Collapsible hat anchor



Feb. 20, 1951 J. E. JUBIN 2,542,815

COLLAPSIBLE HAT ANCHOR Filed Aug. 50, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3 Wu nz/wbw dost-PH EZJUBIN,

Feb. 20, 1951 J. E. JUBIN 2,542,815

COLLAPSIBLE HAT ANCHOR Filed Aug, 30, 1948 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H Qrwwwtoo .jasEFw E. Jl/Bl/V,

fly mwc MM Patented Feb. 20, 1951 UNlTETD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

COLLAPSIBLE HAT ANCHOR Joseph: E. Jubin, New Orleans, 13a assigrror: to

Huye Space Saving Box System Inc., Now Orleans, La... a corporation of Louisiana Application August 30, 1948, Serial No. 46,741

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a collapsible hat anchor or stay for use in a hat box to immovabl y center a hat thereinduring handling and shipment in such manner as to-main-tain the hat out of contact with the box sides and top and thus avoid crushing of the hat crown and brim.

It is recognized that prior devices of the same general nature have heretofore been known, as evidenced by the disclosures in my co-pending application Serial No. 679500, now Patent No. 2,522,274, and in the I-Iuye- Patent 2,115,633, both of common ownership herewith.

It is however a primary object of the instant invention to provide such an anchor which is of simpler and more economical construction and assembly than earlier devices, being formed of stifily resilient sheet material by usual cutting and folding operations and requiring" the use of less material, fewer and simpler assembling operations than such earlier devices.

A further object is to provide such an anchor which may be erected as an integral unit from collapsed or fiat blank form and maintained in erected condition solely by the interlocking action of its several parts, without the use of glue, staples or other additional fastening means.

Further important objects are: to provide such an anchor which is resilientl yieldably adjustable to accommodate hats throughout a wider range of size variations than has" heretofore been possible; and in particular to provide such an anchor which comprises a plurality of resiliently flexible tabs supported by a central anchor body to be confined within and operatively engage the interior of a hat, the body as well as the tabs being resiliently compressible to automatically adapt the anchor for use with varying sizes of hats.

In order to achieve the foregoing objects and advantages; I form the anchor of a pair of curved resiliently flexible. sheet material win-gs or secti'ons intersecting each other at relatively longitudinally spaced locations; Sui-tablet means such as: a sheet material base extends't'ransversely be tween: and connects the medial portions of said wings to maintain them in relativelytransversely spaced relation between said intersections, the wings being'formed with interlocking slots at said intersections and each of said? wings having laterally defiectible free end portions or tabs projecting substantially beyond said intersections to operatively engage and: position a hat. If de sired, the outer ends of. the: said wings maybe provided with integral hooks, disposed at acommon level to. catch over the upper edge of the sweat bandof the hat, and thus positively retain the hat on the anchor against vertical; displacement. Also; it is desirable, though not essential, to provide supplementary interlocking means for positively maintaining the wings in erected condition against forces tending to unfold them.

In this application I show and describe: only the preferred embodiment of my invention, simply by way or illustration of thepractice thereof; as by law required. However I recognize that the invention is capable of other and different embodiments; and that the several details thereof may be modified in variousways r all without departing from my said invention. Ac"- cordingly, the drawings and description herein are to be considered as merely illustrative: and not as exclusive.

In the accompanying drawings:

I Figure 1 represents a; perspective view of an anchor embodying the invention, assame appears in collapsed or blank form prior to being erected;

Figure 2', a perspective view of said anchor showing same as it appears in erected or assembl'ed condition;

Figure 3, a fragmentary cross-section on the line 3 3 of Figure 5-, looking in thedirection of the arrows and showing the use of the anchor to center a hat'i-n a usual hat box Figurel, a longitudinal section on the li'nel -d of Figure 5; looking the direction of the arrows and showing the anchor in conjunction with a hat box and hat inoperative relation thereon;

Figure 5, a plan view" of the hat box, anchor and hat as shown in Figure 4, the top of the box being removed and the crown of the hat being cut away to show the operative position of the anchor; and,

Figure 6, a section on the line 6-6 of Figure 5, looking in the direction of thearrows, the hat being lifted slightly from the bottom of the box to Show the action of the hooks in relation to the sweat band of the hat.

Referring now in detail to the accompanying drawings, there is shown in Figure I a sheet material blank from which a completed hat anchor in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention may be formed by folding and interlocking the several parts, as more fully explained hereinafter.

Such a blank is formed from an usual resiliently flexible sheet material such as cardboard onflberboard, and comprises abase I" and a pair 0t elongated wings or panels 2 and 3 respectively disposed symmetrically onopposite lateral sides oi the base I;,- with the medial sectionsof their '3 inner edges integrally connected thereto along longitudinal fold lines 44. It will be noted that the wings 2 and 3 are relatively longitudinally coextensive and each has opposite free ends 5-5 projecting relatively equidistantly on opposite sides of its connection 4 to the base I.

The said free ends are preferably formed with linear end edges 6 extending substantially at right angles to the fold lines 44; also in most cases it will be preferable to provide each of these ends 5 with an inwardly directed hook I formed integral therewith and projecting beyond its free end edge 9, so that in the erected condition of the anchor the several hooks 1 will all be directed downwardly and disposed at a common level to project or catch over the upper edge of the sweat band of a hat disposed on the anchor.

In order to permit the wings 2 and 3 to intersect and cross each other without interference and also to provide means for interlocking them in erected condition, said wings are each formed with suitable lateral slots at their intended points of intersection, these being substantially spaced from the outer end extremities of the respective wings. It will be seen that the slots 8 of one of said wings 2 extend laterally inwardly from its outer longitudinal edge to or slightly past its center, and the slots 9 of the other wing 3 extend outwardly from its inner longitudinal edge to or slightly past its longitudinal center line. These slots 8 and 9 will preferably be slightly enlarged or widened at their mouths, as

Also, if desired, the wing 3 may be formed with 5 extending inwardly suitable angular cuts H from its outer edge to define locking tongues l2 in alignment with the respective slots 9 for cooperation with the wing 2 in the erected condition of the anchor. I

In order to erect such a blank into a completed anchor in accordance with the invention, the wing 2 is folded upwardly about its fold line 4 to extend substantially vertically to the base I, and its opposite ends are bowed resiliently inwardly until the slots 8 are disposed substan tially in alignment with the axis of symmetry of the blank, asin Figure 2. With the wing 2 maintained in this position, the wing 3 is then folded upwardly and its ends 5 are successively bowed and manipulated to cause the ends of slots 9 to register with the slots 8, whereupon continued folding of the wing 3 to vertical erected position will cause the cooperating pairs of slots 8-9 to interlock with each other and maintain both wings in their intersecting 4 said body as well as the tabs 5 to be resiliently compressed or deflected.

While the engagement between the interlocked portions of the wings 2 and 3, as defined by the edges of their respective pairs of slots 8+9 will normally serve to retain the wings in their erected condition, it has been found that the 7 pressure exerted bythe hat sweat band against the end edges 6 of the wings 2 and 3, and the upward or vertical pulling of a hat against the hooks I, tend to urge the wings somewhat away from their substantially vertical positions and to partially unfold them, thus decreasing the chiciency of the device accordingly.

For this reason I have found it desirable to provide the locking tongues l2 heretofore mentioned which may be hooked around the opposed end edges of the respective slots 8 to oppose such unfolding forces by positively preventing retraction of the tabs 5 of the wing 3 through the slots 8 of wing 2. As thus arranged it will be apparent that the tongues [2 function substantially as hooks connecting thewings 2 and 3 adjacent their upper portions to prevent any partial unfolding thereof.

The anchor of the invention is adapted for use in any usual hat box or container, it being obvious that the anchor may be collapsed to flat condition in the box if desired to increase the capacity thereof when same is used to hold other objects than hats, and when used in a folding or collapsible box may be collapsed fiat against and substantially vertically coextensive positions. 7

7 As thus assembled, it will be noted that the wings 2 and 3 are both horizontally arcuately curved in symmetric relation to each other with their concave faces disposed toward each other, the wings intersecting and crossing each other at two relatively longitudinally spaced locations or bowed conformation of the wings permits the the box bottom to avoid interference with the collapsing of the box.

In Figures 3 to 6 of the drawings I have shown the anchor disposed in operative condition in a'usual hat box having a body B and removable lid or cover C, a usual hat H having a sweat band S being operatively disposed on said anchor.-

In this preferred arrangement of the anchor, same is secured in operative position in the box body B in usual manner, as by having its base I secured flush against the upper surface of the box bottom by gluing or stapling. The anchor is of course spaced from the side walls of the'box in usual manner.

In order to apply a hat to the anchor, the ends or tabs 5 of the anchor are resiliently laterally inwardly compressed in any suitable manner while the hat is placed thereover and moved downwardly thereon to receive said tabs, whereupon release of the tabs 5 permits them to move laterally outwardly into resilient engagement with the sweat band- S of the hat. The downward movement ofthe hat is continued until the brim .h thereof rests on the box bottom I), at which time the hooks 1 of the anchor will have moved to a position just above the upper edge of the sweat band and their inherent resiliency will have caused them' to expand laterally and project slightly across said upper edge. Thus in the event the box is inverted or otherwise handled in a manner to urge the hat off of the anchor, the hooks 1 will extend across and. engage the upper edge of the sweat band S, as in Figure 6, to positively limit such displacement.

It will be apparent that the anchor of the invention will automatically adjust itself to accom modate hats Within an extremely wide range of sizes, since in practice it may be proportioned so that the end of the wings 2 and 3 will normally project laterally sufiiciently to engage the sweat band of the largest size of hat which might be applied thereto; while at the same time, the-application of an extremely small hat will simply horizontal base adapted to be secured to a flat supporting surface, a pair of elongated longitudinally coextensive vertical sheet material wings, the medial portions of the lower edges of said wings being respectively integrally connected to opposite sides of said base along relatively transversely spaced longitudinal fold lines, said wings being horizontally arcuately curved in symmetric relation to each other with their concave faces disposed toward each other, said wing intersecting and crossing each other at locations on opposite longitudinal sides of said base, each said Wing having resiliently horizontally deflectible free ends projecting substantially beyond said respective locations of intersection to engage the sweat band of a hat disposed on said anchor, said free ends having substantially vertical end edges, and downwardly directed retaining hooks carried by each of said free ends at a common level to engage the upper edge of the sweat band of a hat, said wings being respectively formed with inter locking vertical slots at their said locations of intersection, the said slots of one wing extending downwardly from its upper edge to a point midway of its height, and the slots of the other said wing extending upwardly from its lower edge to a point midway of its height, and locking tongues carried by the said other wing and hooked around the edges of the respective slot of said first mentioned wing to resist relative outward folding of said wings.

2. A resilient sheet material hat anchor for maintaining a hat stationary in a box comprising, a flat base adapted to be secured to a fiat supporting surface, a pair of elongated longitudinally coextensive vertical sheet material wings, the medial portions of the lower edges of said wings being respectively integrally connected to opposite sides of said base along relatively transversely spaced longitudinal fold lines, said wing being horizontally arcuately curved in symmetric relation to each other with their concave faces disposed toward each other, said wings intersecting and crossing each other at locations on opposite longitudinal sides of said base, each said wing having resiliently horizontally deflectible free ends projecting beyond said respective locations of intersection, and downwardly directed retaining hooks carried by each of said ends at a common level above said b se.

3. A resilient sheet material hat anchor comprising a fiat horizontal base, a pair of elongated longitudinally coextensive vertical sheet material wings, the medial portions of the lower edges of said wings being respectively integrally connected to opposite sides of said base along relatively spaced longitudinal fold lines, said wings being resiliently horizontally curved in symmetric relation to each other and intersecting each other at relatively longitudinally spaced locations on opposite sides of said base, said wings having interlocking slots at their said intersections, each said wing having resiliently horizontally deflectible free ends projecting beyond said respective intersections, the said slots of one wing extending downwardly from its upper. edge to a point midway of its height, and the slots of the other said wing extending upwardly from its lower edge to a point midway of its height, and locking tongues carried by the said last mentioned wing, each tongue being hooked around an edge of one of the slots of said first mentioned wing and extending against the outer face of the free end thereof to resist relative outward folding of said wings.

4. A collapsible sheet material hat anchor which in collapsed condition comprises a flat base, and elongated wings disposed symmetrically on opposite longitudinal sides of said base in a common plane therewith, said wings having relatively longitudinally extending adjacent edges medially integrally connected to said base along spaced longitudinal fold lines, said wings having pairs of transverse slots disposed therein at corresponding longitudinal locations between their respective free ends and the relatively adjacent ends of said fold lines, the slots of one wing extending inwardly from its outer edge and the slots of the other wing extending outwardly from its inner edge, said one wing having a looking tongue carried adjacent the outer edge oppositely positioned with respect to each slot, said locking tongues projecting toward each other lengthwise of said wing and each hooking around one edge of the adjacent slot of said other wing in the erected condition of said anchor.

5. A hat anchor for centering a hat in a box comprising, a pair of resiliently laterall curved sheet material wings intersecting each other at tworelatively spaced locations, a base extending transversely between and connecting the medial portions of said wings in relatively spaced relation midway between said intersections, said wings being formed with interlocking slots at said intersections, each of said wings having laterally deflectible free ends projecting beyond said intersections. means connecting said wings at said intersections to prevent relative movement thereof away from each other, and downwardly directed hooks carried by said respective free ends at a common level.

.6. A hat anchor for centering a hat in a box com rising. a, pair of resiliently laterally curved sheet material wings intersecting each other at two relatively spaced locations, 2. base connecting the medial portions of said wings in relatively spaced relation between sa d" intersections, said wings being formed with interlocking recesses at said intersections, each of said wings having laterally deflectible free ends projecting beyond said intersections, and downwardly direct d hooks carried by said free ends at a common level.

JOSEPH E. JUBINT.

REFERENCES UNITED STATES PATENTS 

